


Together

by Auggusst



Series: The Soldier And The Scientist [28]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Endgame Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Fix-It, Fluff, Hospital, Love, M/M, Near Death Experience, New Beginnings, Post Battle, Recovery, Reunions, care, happiness, my endgame happened differently, read the notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 09:59:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18658150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auggusst/pseuds/Auggusst
Summary: AVENGERS ENDGAME SPOILERS.When Tony Stark uses the gauntlet, he expects to die. To his relief, he manages to pull off one last surprise.





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> The timeline is significantly pushed up, as per the previous piece I posted. This takes place maybe a month and a half? After the Snap, because logistically bringing billions of people back five years after they disappeared would just put the world into more chaos. 
> 
> STony as endgame, obviously. But as we've established, Pep and Tony are good friends, so she would still come as Rescue. 
> 
> If I had time I'd completely rewrite the movie, but I'm betting there's a lot of people out there who are just begging for a happy ending right now. And you know what? This isn't the end. I'll continue to write fics both before endgame and after because it's self care.

Tony collapsed against the wreckage, jostling his form even through his armor. He may have hit his head on the way down, but wasn’t sure. He slid onto the ground with a gasp, pain spiking. His bones vibrated and his vision was gone, blurry and dark around the edges, a pinpoint of light. The breath in his chest felt too hot, burning through his muscles. His head felt like it was going to split open. Maybe it had already. He felt too alive and already dead, felt the phenomenal power and energy that had radiated through his body leave in waves so strong he was sure this was it. He couldn’t even feel his arm, but he had done it. He had used the stones, had destroyed that evil bastard. He had ended the nightmare, had finally repaid his vision. There was no way to process this right now. It was difficult to find a line of thought. It was difficult to do anything. His limbs were too heavy, and he couldn’t move. Someone was saying his name. He couldn’t make out the voice, though it was familiar. There were fingers on his face now, a cooling tingle against the burning within him.

“Tony.” It sounded distant, distorted, like he was underwater. Tony remembered being drowned in the Afghan cave, floating in and out of consciousness with fire in his lungs. He couldn’t decide if this was better or worse. His name was called again. Rhodey maybe? He wasn’t sure. It was too difficult to focus on it.

“Tony, hey, hey, look at me. Look at us. We’re here.”

Tony squeezed his eyes and opened them again, tried to focus his vision. It took a while, but he managed. His heart rate was slowing down, his bones settling. The power was gone. He was himself again. There—faces he recognized, faces he cared about. The kid. Rhodey. Pepper. Steve. They were here, and so were others, everyone who had come, everyone who had counted on him. If he were more coherent he would’ve felt crowded.

“Wh…what…” it was barely a whisper, a test of his voice. His tongue felt like lead and his throat too dry. Tony took a second, tried again. “Is…are we…?”

“We’re okay,” Pepper confirmed, cupping his cheek. She laughed, light, earnest, emotional. “You did it.”

“We won, Mr. Stark,” Peter added, on his left. Tony could barely see him, the black around the edge of his vision still too overpowering. Hearing his voice was a blessing though. His words were even more so.

Won. They had won. It was over. Could it be? Was it true? It must have been, or else he wouldn’t have felt so completely destroyed. They had done it. It was over, for real. Everyone would be safe. The exhale of relief that left his lips burned, but it felt so good. He could feel himself smiling, though it was weak. He was exhausted, in a way he never imagined possible. For a moment, elation filled him, but fatigue replaced it.

“Great,” Tony breathed, head falling forward. He didn’t have the strength to keep it up anymore. His body was inclined to follow, the world spinning, leaving him feeling lost at sea. He was sure he would crash into the dirt, but he didn’t. The brunet felt strong arms around him, grounding him. He felt the scales of a familiar suit pressed against his cheek. Steve.

“Tony. Stay with us. Stay with me, sweetheart.” His voice rumbled in Tony’s ears, sweet as silk, reverent and pleading and wrecked. It filled him with relief and fear. He wanted to tell Steve that he wasn’t leaving, that he could never leave, that he didn’t want to leave, but he was woefully lacking in control. Moments ago he had been, theoretically, the most powerful being in the universe. Now, he was just Tony, broken and tired.

The sound that escaped Tony’s throat was miserable, weak, but he did his best. He was drifting, the call of the void too strong. He just needed to rest for a while, and then he would be okay, right? Maybe he would live. He hoped he would live. It wouldn’t be fair to the others if he didn’t. He wanted more time, needed more time, to say the things he couldn’t, but he was just so tired. The exhaustion outweighed the fear. There were hands running through his hair, the sensation cutting through the pain, tingles dancing around his nerves. He knew they were Steve’s hands, and was glad for it. He remembered last night, how they had lain together, how Steve had held him tightly, the way he was doing now. Tony tried to raise a hand, tried to hold on to him to indicate that he would never, never give up, never think about leaving now, but it only made it up a few inches. He was tipping over the edge. Tony was familiar enough with fainting that he knew it was moments away. The brunet focused his throat, willed it to work, in case this was it, in case he couldn’t come back from the black. Maybe it would be okay if he couldn’t. Maybe Steve could forgive him.

“Love you,” he muttered. He didn’t have the strength to say more. _This is it_ , he thought. Tony’s hand fell slack, and he felt the blond’s lips on his forehead before passing out.

 

* * *

 

 

His hearing returned first. He heard steady breathing, the beep of a medical machine, the soft hum of an air conditioning unit. Soft voices somewhere far away, the faint whistling of birds outside the window. It was a marked improvement from the thunderous roar of a rearranging universe, the screams of an alien army, the sounds of bullets and blasts and swords and god knows what else. He couldn’t decide if this was the afterlife or not. Was there even an afterlife? Tony hadn’t been one to ponder that over the years, but figured maybe he should, with the amount of near death experiences he had under his belt. He listened, just listened, pulling himself out of the black.

Slowly he remembered he had a body. Tony twitched his toes, tested his range of movement. It was ridiculously small, but what did he expect. He felt numb, but supposed it was the result of painkillers. Good. He wasn’t ready to feel pain again.

Eventually he managed to open his eyes, steadied his breathing. It was sunny and bright, though the shades on the window were tugged down halfway, warm light cutting across half of the room. He heard an exhale, and looked to his side. Steve was there. He looked like an angel, resting on the edge of Tony’s bed, hands wrapped around his like a lifeline. Tony couldn’t feel them right now but wished he could. He blinked his eyes, focused his vision. Steve looked exhausted, still a little bruised, but nothing like he had been at the battle. The sunlight caught on his golden lashes, and illuminated his face, smoothing out his worry lines. There was a little stubble on his handsome visage, though. How long had it been? How long had he been out? Tony’s eyes scanned the room for any sort of clue, but there was nothing to go on.

He licked his dry lips, tried to clear his throat. He didn’t do a great job. It was enough to make the blond stir though, no doubt thanks to his super-soldier hearing. Tony watched tiredly as those beautiful blue eyes opened and settled on his face. It was a relief, for both. Tony couldn’t feel much physically, but he could feel emotions, the swelling and overwhelming warmth of love spreading over him, filling him, as the blond stood, draped himself over the brunet’s body, pulled him in for a hug.

“S-steve,” his voice cracked. He was aware of tears swimming in his vision.

“Tony,” the blond breathed, “Tony,” he repeated, his grip tightening. He said his name like a prayer, brushed hands through his hair and down his shoulders, framed his visage delicately between his large hands.

Tony wanted to memorize his expression forever. He had never seen such relief, such genuine happiness directed at him. His blue eyes were bright, wide open and joyful, and the smile he wore was stunning. It formed a lump in the brunet’s throat. “I love you,” Tony managed, smiling tiredly. Before the plan he had been afraid to say it, afraid that it would mean goodbye. Now, it meant hello. He would be able to say it as many times as he wanted, and he wanted to say it all the time.

Steve exhaled a breath of laughter, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips. It left Tony warm and at peace. The feeling in his body was starting to return as well. He was thankful for it, glad to feel the solid weight of Steve against him, especially when he thought he never would again.

“I love you. So, so much. Tony… The things you’ve done, the things you’ve been through… You’re amazing,” the blond replied, awe in his tone.

Tony could only take in his words, imprinted them in his memory. He felt a tear slip down his cheek. No one had ever spoken about him like that. Sure, Steve had said lovely things in the past, but they way he said them now, and the things Tony wanted to say in return… it was as if both were seeing clear for the first time, as if the entire world had shifted. Tony was a little hazy on the details of what happened, but from what he remembered, they had both given quite a performance. Steve wielding Mjolnir was one of the most incredible things he had ever seen. The soldier had been so brave, so strong, facing oblivion without hesitation. Despite all that happened in the past, Steve was still a hero, Tony’s hero, and that was only reaffirmed in the battle. Everyone’s performance, really, was amazing. They had all been phenomenally brave, and fought so hard.

“I always knew you could lift it,” the brunet said, focusing his energy to raise a hand. He draped it over Steve’s forearm. “I knew you were worthy.”

It was Steve’s turn to tear up. Even without specifically mentioning the hammer, he knew what Tony meant. He smiled, held Tony’s hand in his own. “Only because of you.”

“You’re just ruffling my ego,” Tony replied, shaking his head. Steve leaned in again, kissed him slowly and gently. Tony relished in it, especially with how tender it was. It was unlike any kiss they had ever shared. Later he would want to kiss the blond hard and long, to pour out his emotions and relief, but this was perfect for now. He didn’t have the strength yet for a powerful kiss. The brunet was feeling more coherent now though, and looked around the room. There were plenty of questions he wanted to ask. He started with one. “How long have I been out?”

“Seven days,” Steve replied, drawing back a bit. He fluffed up Tony’s pillow, angled it so the brunet could sit up a little. He let Steve guide his tired body. “At first, we weren’t sure you would make it. There wasn’t much on you physically from using the gauntlet, the damage contained to one side, but…it was like your energy was gone, like the things that made you _you_ were missing. You’d been pulled apart. We’re lucky you were strong enough to put yourself back together.” He paused, brushing a thumb over the brunet’s cheek.

“When you collapsed in my arms…I thought that was it. But FRIDAY told us you were still alive. Your heart rate was incredibly slow, but you were hanging on. We got you to the hospital. Your suit was ruined, we had to peel it off you, and the stones in turn. We took them back, that’s been taken care of. Then there were the injuries you sustained from the battle, which are still healing, so sorry to tell you, but you’ll have to stay in bed for a while.”

Tony scoffed at that. “For once, I think I’m okay with laying in bed,” the brunet said, relaxing his shoulders, wincing as he shifted. It was true. He knew it would take a long time to recover, but it didn’t matter. The work was done, at least for now. If anything came to fuck up his life in the next year, he’d destroy it with his bare hands. He wanted to rest, had the ability to rest for the first time in years, and was going to take it.

“Everyone was here. You should have seen the emergency staff’s faces with over eighteen war-torn heroes standing in the room crowding around you. Rhodey had to push them all back so I could get you in.”

That warmed Tony’s heart. He’d never imagined so many people would care about him. Despite the fact that he had literally saved the world, he still felt…flawed, unworthy. But his opinion of himself didn’t matter anymore. People were safe, and had apparently been there to support him. He wondered how they were all doing, and what the extent of the battle damage was. He was sure Pepper had handled it, with the Stark Relief foundation. Either way, everyone would be getting a very expensive thank you note once Tony got out of the hospital. Maybe a party. He wasn’t sure right now.

“So what’s the damage? Hopefully I’m still pretty.”

Steve laughed softly at that. “You’re still pretty. There’s a cut on your forehead, you’ve got a cracked rib, and some serious burns on your arm from the gauntlet. Dr. Cho did her best to clean them up nice. She let the hospital borrow her machinery. They also suspected a head injury, but thankfully no lasting effects. You’ve got plenty of bruises but…Your armor’s tough. It kept you in one piece.”

Tony absorbed the info, focusing on feeling his different limbs as Steve listed his injuries. There was a bandage on forehead now he realized, and well, he’d already seen the wrapping snaking up his arm. Exhaustion would be the bigger issue, he thought. He knew it would be a while before he felt strong enough to walk without trouble. “Good.” He paused. “What about the others?”

The blond shook his head, relaxed his posture. “Nothing too bad. You cut things off before they would get any worse. Everyone will be glad to see you’re alright.”

The brunet nodded, satisfied with the answer. They hadn’t lost anyone else—good. If even one of the team had lost their lives, he would have felt like a failure. Now? He felt…satisfied? He wasn’t familiar with the feeling on this level. It was far-fetched, in his mind, to feel well and truly safe. But maybe they were now. The efforts of the last few years had culminated, and they had come out victorious. Surely they deserved some sort of break, if not permanent safety. Maybe they would be alright, for real. The thought made him sigh contentedly. The brunet had the urge to laugh, long and hard, but his lungs would fight him on it now. There would be plenty of time to laugh in the future. The future was a thing now, he realized with glee. He didn’t have to worry about it. Well, not as much as before. Now he could worry about normal things, like the weather, or what type of ice cream to buy, or beating Steve to the TV remote. There were possibilities now. The reality of it was exciting, but frightening all the same. He brushed a gentle hand through Steve’s blond hair, drinking in the view. Tony smiled, really smiled, with anticipation and nervousness. “What happens now?” he asked.

Steve thought for a moment. It was clear he had wondered the same things as Tony, about the future. Maybe he had sat here the last few days, begging, praying that things would turn out alright, and for once, his prayers were answered. Now, a world of possibilities had opened. He knit his brows. It took him a moment to find the words.

He caught Tony’s hand from his hair, brought it to his lips and kissed his bruised knuckles. “Now we move on. We…live, I guess.”

It made Tony’s skin tingle. If he wasn’t sure already he loved Steve with his whole heart, he would have loved him even more now. His words were true, and both knew it. There would still be work to be done, but there was more than that now. They could _live_ , without having to watch their backs every second, without worrying about what was out there and what was coming. Even if something did come, after dealing with what they had just been through, Tony was sure they could handle anything. They had placed their lives in Tony’s hands, and knew without impunity, that he would do whatever it took to protect them. The team was a team again, maybe better than they ever were, and Tony was thankful for it. For the first time in a long while, he had no idea about the future. It excited him and frightened him. He would have to learn to be normal now, or at least, to adjust. He wondered briefly if there would ever be a world that didn’t need Iron Man, and the thought was bittersweet _._

Tony licked his lips, exhaled softly. “Not really sure I know how to do that,” he replied, brown eyes scanning the handsome blond’s face. His words were sincere. Tony had been unfamiliar with normal for years now. Had he ever been normal? He wasn’t sure. Now, he would have to try though, and knew it would be difficult.

“We’ll figure out how,” came the reply. Steve always knew just the thing to say, that didn’t change over the years. It touched his heart. Every day Tony was a little more gone for Steve, and today was no exception.

“Together?” the brunet inquired, sitting forward. Together was how they were meant to be. It was a long, hard journey to realize it completely, but he did, and so did Steve. They were at their best together, despite the arguments, despite the troubles. Together was the only way to be, the only way that made sense. So much had happened since their first meeting in Germany, apprehending Loki. It had been a long and arduous journey, but the reward was oh so sweet. A new journey could begin now, one with hopefully a lot less heartbreak and near-death experiences.

Blue eyes met brown, filled with a myriad of emotions: excitement, fear, love, and most of all, joy. Steve leaned in until their foreheads touched. His heart beat furiously in his chest, his skin tingled against Tony’s, and he knew he was home. It always came down to Tony, regardless of how long it took him to figure it out. He had a future, a real future now, and looked forward to the challenges it would present. With Tony at his side, he would be able to deal with anything. He joined hands with his partner, intertwined their fingers.

“Together,” he agreed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Hope this helps, especially those who asked for a part 2, because the movie was ass.


End file.
